A significant demand exists for mobile devices capable of communicating in any wireless standard such as code division multiple access (CDMA) or global system for mobile communications (GSM). A software defined radio (SDR) device exemplifies such a device.
In a SDR device, functions that were formerly carried out solely in hardware, such as the generation of the transmitted radio signal and the tuning of the received radio signal, are controlled by software. Because these functions are controlled by software, the radio is programmable, allowing it to transmit and to receive over a wide range of frequencies and to emulate virtually any desired transmission format. Accordingly, instead of discarding the SDR device when a technological advance occurs, the SDR device merely requires downloading a software upgrade referred to as a radio configuration (R-CFG) file to accommodate this change.
There are several disadvantages associated with the present method for dynamically loading a R-CFG onto a SDR device. First, an inefficient amount of messaging occurs between the SDR device and a server of a SDR device manufacturer during the process of loading the R-CFG onto the SDR device. Second, a lack of security exists to prevent downloading malicious code onto the SDR device. Third, the present method lacks an automatic method of ensuring that a R-CFG does not exceed a permitted operating parameter (e.g., the frequency, the modulation type, the output power, and the maximum field strength) associated with the SDR device. It is therefore desirable to have a system or a method that overcomes these disadvantages.